Tracks News - In this section you'll find news from cities around the country as well as interviews and general reporting on issues. It might be from a newspaper or a blog, but it counts as news.

TRANSPORT

International: Active Travel Law to Boost Walk/Bike

BBC

One group said the Active Travel Bill had the potential to be one of the most effective public health interventions since the creation of the assembly...Read On

International: China Could Approve Joining Iran HSR

Bloomberg

China's State Copuncil approved plans to take part in the building of a high-speed railway line in Iran, two people familiar with the matter said...Read On

Calgary: City May Look to Streetcar History for Future

Calgary Herald

Inner-city denizens' dream of a Calgary streetcar system comeback could take a very, very small step forward next week...Read On

Houston: Neighborhood History Should Dictate Transit

Houston Chronicle

East End has a bona fide history and sense of place; its challenge is to encourage development and retain that history...Read On

Cincinnati: Duke Sues City Over Streetcar Cost

Cincinnati Enquirer

Duke Energy, arguing that a Cincinnati ordinance that would require it to pay to relocate utility lines for the streetcar project is unconstitutional, has filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court seeking to shift that estimated $15 million cost back to City Hall...Read On

International: Italy's HSR Tunnel Fraught with Protests

BBC News

After 20 years' delay because of opposition from locals and environmental campaigners, work on the Italian side of a high-speed rail tunnel designed to link Turin with Lyon in France has finally begun...Read On

National: LaHood Defends HSR Plans

Politico

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood mounted a forceful defense Tuesday of President Barack Obama's investment in the country's long-neglected passenger rail service, making what may have been one of his final speeches as a member of the Cabinet...Read On

URBANISM | HOUSING | CITIES | ENVIRONMENT

Raleigh: New Development Code Aims to Remake Core

News and Observer

To see where Raleigh could head in coming decades, look to the rapidly growing east side of the North Hills community...Read On

National: How to Thrive, Short Commutes

NPR

Many people believe that happiness comes from money or youth or beauty, but Dan Buettner would respectfully disagree. Buettner visited some of the happiest places on Earth and argues that the real keys to happiness lie in fundamental, permanent changes to the way we live...Read On

San Francisco: Urban Housing That Fits In

San Francisco Chronicle

"Infill housing" is one of those phrases that planning geeks love, shorthand for any residential development that doesn't include cul de sacs on land where crops were farmed last year...Read On

Jeff Wood, Reconnecting America's New Media Director and Chief Cartographer, collects news stories and blog posts about transit and transit-oriented development from around the country and posts them at TheDirectTransfer.com. Jeff then takes the top 10 articles in each of five categories and sends that out as Other Side of the Tracks email newsletter. The content of that email is then posted here.